Fazil sir provided a big changeover for me: Vijay

Vijay is currently one of the biggest superstars in South Indian cinema. He commands a massive fan following and his films are celebrated by millions across the world. But all this did not happen overnight. Though his father SA Chandrashekar launched him, Vijay has had his fair share of struggles in the industry. He had to face a lot of failures and humiliation before reaching this position. Starting his career as a second hero, he found his first real success nearly five years after making his debut.

Initially he was seen as a romantic hero with a guy next door image. After 2000s, he slowly transformed into a mass hero and established himself as a bankable commercial star with a string of blockbusters. Today, he enjoys a superstar status in the industry with his last release Mersal doing a worldwide business of over Rs 250 crores.

In a recent interview Vijay was asked about the changes in his acting career. He said, “Vikraman sir gave me my first break. My father made me a commercial hero but it was Fazil sir who provided the much needed the big changeover for me.”

Vijay has worked with the ace Malayalam filmmaker in a couple of Tamil films, Kadhalukku Mariyadhai and Kannukkul Nilavu. The former, which was the remake of super hit Malayalam movie Aniyathipravu, gave him a ‘romantic hero’ tag. The movie also won him his first Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Actor.

Kannukkul Nilavu, released in 2000, was also a critical and commercial success. Both the movies had Vijay paired opposite Shalini. Their combination was a big hit during that time and Fazil was rightly credited for giving an image makeover for Vijay.